Begane: “A Civilized Gun For Civilized People”
I was sure that the promotional video for the Begane or "BIGGUN" was a hoax. Unfortunately the gun, which is described as a "civilized gun for civilized people", is all to real.
You would be forgiven for mistaking the Begane for a 19th century ceremonial baton. This was intentional. One of is many features is that it can be used as a standard baton or an electric shock baton. Another useful feature is the bayonet which can be used for defense when you are reloading the four .38 Special shotshell cartridges it holds. They also managed to squeeze in a pepper spray dispenser.
It has four barrel in a derringer-style configuration which are fired by twisting the handle. Reloading is accomplished by open the hinged handle.
[ Many thanks to Heimdal for emailing me the link. ]
Hopefully it weighs enough that you can just smack people with it
SOME Firearms Engineers make it, the right way:
http://www.lusausa.com/
Plus I bet you can smuggle it into the sci-fi convention without much trouble.
You’ve not going to the right conventions. The better ones allow you to tote around weapons, as long as they are peace-bonded.
A piece of equipment with 26 features is NOT a piece of emergency equipment.
“New idea”, as though there were never truncheon guns before.
And this picture is apposite.
Maybe, maybe….. MAYBE if it were cheap (< $300) and could fire REAL .38 special rounds an not the anemic rat-shot rounds…. AND fire them in a practical way (twisting the handle is a terrible idea for a multitude of reasons) then perhaps this contraption could be marketed to SciFi nerds, or the bleeding hearts… But as it is? FAIL.
Don’t give the guy any ideas shockfish.
SpudGun is right again… hiroshi_tea realises…..
Well I’d suppose it could be concealable… IN YOUR ASS! This thing looks like a flaming lightsaber dildo
I think something like this wihtout the bayonet and firearm aspect would not be a bad idea, I dont think police would mind if there battons had an taser like effect on them, however just looking at the demensions of this thing it is to short to really be used as a blunt force object.
This is a million accidents and lawsuits waiting to happen. This is what happens when your society starts believing that “science fantasy” and science are the same thing.
@hiroshi_tea
The Freudian based attack is derived from a headless man being shot at crotch level whilst twirling around a long phallus shaped object. If you were to act in the same manner at the supermarket with a cucumber with women in the vicinity, the Freudian implications would be made quite apparent in a relatively short space of time.
As for my being immature – what? are you new here or something?
I think it’s a scam too, it’s just too stupid. That star wars link pretty much confirmed it for me, as did the laser as a skull. (wtf?)
The concept holds promise as a non lethal weapon, though. Integrating a baton, pepper spray, stun baton and flashlight into one unit makes a good degree of sense. Making all it’s functions intuitive and safe would be a challenge, but I think it would be a great advantage to police forces. Since they’ll have the choice to use various non lethal methods to subdue someone without needing to draw from different parts of their belt for the particular weapon.
Plus you could take cool ninja style poses, when looking around with it’s flashlight.
Why should someone believe that this is the ultimate hightech non lethal masterpece when the video is such crappy? On a side note: Did you notice the picture at the end showing the Dog at the beach sunset? “For a safer world!!” craptastic just reached a new level of meaning…
HOW is that safe you turn the handle to shoot if you hit somone with it you could shoot yourself ! it looks like a toy kids will pick it up and turn the handle while the barrel is pointing at there face not good juju.
How is .38 nonlethal. I know it’s designed for shotshells but that’s still pretty dangerous. And the extra handle is just ridiculous. This whole thing is a load of shit. I’d much rather use a death-trap jennings saturday night special for home defense than this underpowered, overcomplicated POS.
All good comments above; but I wanted to point out another contradiction in the ‘Begane-to-be-Shot’ promo:
They actually claim it is safe because it requires two hands to be fired – unless it’s on the belt being fired with one hand blindly behind you.
Also, another feature that they neglected to mention is the Integral Lawsuit Magnet permanently designed into this particular device.
EPIC FAIL
I rather have a 3 foot length of rubber hose
I think I will stick to the protective device Mr Browning invented about 100 years ago…
Great review Vak, especially #9. It looked pretty cheap and dorky before they added the camo. It looks like it should be in the toy section of K-Mart.
The manufacturer certainly hasn’t heard of “KISS” (keep it simple stupid). With “26″ different features, how does one simply decide which feature to deploy effectively?
I hope this joke disapears very quietly.
One look at this thing and you can tell it was designed by someone who never fired a weapon either in combat or for a recorded score. Add new meaning to “shooting from the hip”.
Personal Defense FAIL!
I’m not a Star Wars fan (the original trilogy and the new were both awful by the way) but I love odd and unusual devices. I’m also an old fashioned gent who loves neo-Victoriana. I need this to complete my costume for Halloween.
If the price is right, I’ll get one for my collection.
I need to get one before George Lucas sues them out of existence. I need it to go with one of these lasers he does not like.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/gaming.gadgets/07/06/light.saber.lucas/index.html?iref=NS1
Urgh…crap. Realized this is a different company. My bad.
Actually, Lucasfilm Limited is suing the company over the resemblance to a lightsabre.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/gaming.gadgets/07/06/light.saber.lucas/index.html?iref=NS1
Heck, you can see that it’s obviously being marketed with the lightsabre resemblance in mind-”a civilized gun for civilized people” is spitting distance from Alec Guinness telling the audience that lightsabres were “not as clumsy or random as a blaster; a precise weapon from a more civilized time.”
So…I suppose everyone realizes I’m a nerd now. :p
An updated pepper-box. Is there a danger that all four cartridges will fire at once? /(snark off)
I think a high voltage stun gun and pepper spray would have been sufficient. I can imagine someone going all kung fu on someones ass with one of those in some Hollywood movie.
The gun aspect of the weapon kind of spoils the whole thing and makes it a dangerous and dodgy firearm.
Instead of a gun they could have incorporated instead a high intensity flashlight, to blind/distract pursuers/attackers.
It would have been so cool. I think with those improvements it would be a worthwhile useful weapon.
Also that the guy pronounces the weapons as a ‘big gun’ kind of makes me think this is some kind of intentional scam rather than just being stupid.
They even have the star wars flying text at the end!!
As a sci-fi fan (Star Wars and otherwise) I can definitively say i do NOT want one. If I want a movie prop, I’ll buy a movie prop, if I want another defensive weapon, I’ll buy a defensive weapon. Also, what’s to keep the gun from discharging into the handler’s leg if he falls forward and down, it doesn’t seem to be that difficult to spin the handle.
“Home defense?” “Protect your family?” Seriously?
When well-trained, LE deploy non-lethal means, they have backup providing them with plan B (lethal force). Honestly, how many private citizens can count on that sort of backup?
Wow. Just wow. I sincerely hope no one buys this with the serious intent of using it to protect themselves.
Also, not the best at electrical engineering, but am i mistaken that it would only take a small amount of loose wires and/or water for the taser to short the shotshells into firing?
What if you ever have to defend yourself with one of these against an attacker with a real firearm? At least they can say how “civilized” you were at your funeral.
im a huge star wars and sci-fi fan and i think this is the dumbest “gun” iv ever seen…
its not practical at all…
@ Fred — and every wannabe jackbooted thug will want one too. No doubt it will have an NSN stock number soon, and quantities ordered by the TSA.
“A civilized gun for civilized people,” indeed. I can almost here it now:
“Pardon me sir, but if you do not desist, I shall be forced to open a can of whoopass on you…”
“Is that a Begane you have there? Why then by all means, please allow me to lay down my AK-47 and come quietly with you, oh and pray do not hurt yourself unloading the armor-piercing bullets from my vile weapon.”
Yes, it looks kind of cool, but this is supposed to be a short ranged, secondary weapon. Yet putting all of the secondary attacks in one baton also increases the ease of disarming the person with the begain.
After watching the video, I’d put my money on a skilled cop with a PR24 baton against the begane at short range any day. First strike to the Begane (or hand/arm operating it) followed by 1-2 strikes to the head… and then maybe a dose of pepper spray for good measure. Come to think of it, I’d also probably bet on the cop using one of those super heavy duty flashlights they love so well. And these are the (generally) nonlethal backups.
So, thank you sirs, but I do believe I will pass on your new weapon… but feel free to call me when you install it in a civilized security automaton.
It needs Wi Fi and a can opener.
Also it uses a laser to PROJECT THE IMAGE OF A SKULL
How awesome is that?
Wouldn’t you love to have that thing on your hip when two guys with Glocks bust in your kitchen door?
“Step back! I have a Began!”
This thing is absolutely ridiculous. I don’t see how it could be practically fielded in any of the scenarios they described.
I will gladly admit that I’m not an expert. At the very best, I’m an knowledgeable amateur, but I know this is a bad idea.
First off : 4 rounds is very little. I know, most self defense situation Joe Regular might face in his life will be over without firing a shot, but that gun doesn’t actually look like a gun, so there will be no deterrence effect (“is that fool aiming a flashlight at me ? Imma go fuck him up”). Also if that gun is actually aimed at being used by law enforcement and security personel, I think they will want a little more firepower than 4 .38spl (I’m not dissing the .38, I love it, but that’s not the point). Just imagine the North Hollywood Shootout, but this time the police only has Beganes. Not pretty, isn’t it ?
Second point : it’s HUGE. Just look at it. You could just carry one of those S&W bodyguard snubbies on your hip and a pepper spray in your pocket and not only would you have the same firepower (well, actually more firepower, 5 beats 4) but it would also be more concealable.
Third point : That laser. Skull laser just screams LAWSUIT. Every lawyer on the planet is praying for something like that, it will not only shows that the guy who used it had intent to kill, but it will make convincing the jury so easier : “see that red laser skull ? it proves that the shooter didn’t shoot to protect his life but that he carefully planned the execution of my client with this black evil copkiller light saber revolver of death”
Fourth point : The camo. It’s just rediculous. Also third point again, you can add “military style” to “black evil copkiller light saber revolver of death”.
Fifth point (why do I even bother counting anymore ?) : all your weapons in one. Completely defeats the idea of backup. Let’s pretend that you’re a police officer. You’re trying to arrest some kind of bad guy with your gun out, because he is on crack or something, and for some stupid reason (you tripped, it’s a low light condition, anything) he manages to get a hold of your gun and is about to shoot you with it. If you have anything that isn’t a Begane, then you can still fight the bastard with mace or your tonfa. If you have a Begane… well, I hope your department didn’t go cheap on the bulletproof you’re wearing.
6 : Shooting the thing backward. It’s stupid on so many level.
7 : the safety and simple design. Again, just get a snubby with a concealed or bobbed hammer, and DON’T LEAVE YOUR GUN LAYING AROUND. SERIOUSLY PEOPLE, JUST PUT A TRIGGERLOCK ON IT OR PUT IT IN A SAFE AWAY FROM THE REACH OF CHILDREN AND YOU’RE DONE. It’s like those “child-proof” meds bottle that aren’t child proof at all.
8 : No, .38spl is not “non lethal”. Sure it’s not .454casull, but it WILL ruin your day.
9 : PACIFIC NINJA. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA … *catches breath* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Seriously ?
10 : integrated bayonet. Read 9.
I think I’m done. Can’t blame them for trying, though.
So let me get this straight: In order to avoid accidental shootings they recommend that you don’t actually aim, and just shoot from the hip with the gun pointing in a general direction? Why am I not inspired by this idea?
I’m guessing it’s a hoax designed to lure “investors” to put money into their company, which will eventually cease operations after the money disappears and/or the authorities catch up to them.
Not so clumsy or random as a Blaster.
Plus I bet you can smuggle it into the sci-fi convention without much trouble.
Aside from that, it seems like it’s trying to do too much with too little.
I hope no one actually ever buys one of those things. The whole aim from the hip thing right off the bat had me face-palming.
I don’t see how this is non-lethal. There is so much wrong with this video that I feel very confused and upset now.
also spudgun, “looking like a dork as you twirl your light saber / penis subsitute on your belt loop.”
are you serious? Sure it may be dorky, but why the Freudian based attack? Are you just as immature as an Anti-gunner? Jesus jumping christ!
Maybe not. I think lightsaber enthusiasts dig on the overall elegance.
This thing is about as far from elegant as it gets.
The laser sight cracks me up, though.
I guess the attacker would laugh himself to death and that would be the trick.
All i can say is wow what a load of shit. Its just like that knife that you cant stab with, stupid things for stupid people.
I’d want one but in a 20 gauge version.
Interesting curiosity. You know every sci-fi (Star Wars) fan is going to want one of those.
‘Respect my authoritah!’ – I don’t wish to appear pedantic, but 4 chambers of .38 Special doesn’t really seem applicable to the description ‘Non-Lethal’.
There is so much wrong with the Begane, that I don’t know where to begin – but suffice it to say, if you ever get in a tussle with someone using this ‘system’, be prepared for accidental shootings, electric shocks, pepper spray in the face, bayonet impalement, the hinge opening at the wrong moment and most importantly of all – looking like a dork as you twirl your light saber / penis subsitute on your belt loop.
Fail.